Buyers allege developer sold units fraudulently, land lesser on ground than on paper, approach HC

Gurugram: Home buyers of the Godrej Icon project, located in Sector 88A and 89A, have alleged that the developer had sold the housing units by telling them that

Gurugram: Home buyers of the Godrej Icon project, located in Sector 88A and 89A, have alleged that the developer had sold the housing units by telling them that the land meant for the project was 9.385 acres but is less on the ground.

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Buyers, who have approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking relief, said that they had bought the properties because it was promised to be a low-density project with 40 housing units in an acre, while in reality the project allegedly has more than 50 units in an acre, said buyers.

The project was launched in 2015 by Godrej Properties. Buyers said that putting faith in the corporate developer, a majority of them had paid around 80% of the amount within the next one-and-a-half years. “Towards the end of 2017, a meeting was called by the developer for change of the development plan, where objections were raised. This forced us to investigate the project as well and we obtained project documents, maps and building plans and digitised the same,” said Ajay Vohra, a buyer, who said that they were surprised to find that land for the project was allegedly less than six acres and that their land had been diverted for some other purpose.

Vohra and other buyers also approached the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRERA) in this matter, and from documents obtained from the authority and from the environment ministry, they found that the developer had allegedly submitted different land areas for the same project with different departments. “We want to leave the project, as what was promised in proposals and builder-buyer agreements is different from what is on offer. We did not get relief from the developer and authorities, and as such have filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court,” alleged Vohra, adding that some of the land shown in the project plan was meant to be acquired by the state government for development of roads and other infrastructure.

“I filed for withdrawal before HRERA, Gurugram which awarded me return of the principal amount, along with interest as on January 29, 2019, however, along with forfeiture, which was later found unjust and overturned by the HRERA Appellate Tribunal, which also the remanded the case back to the adjudicating officer for award of compensation, along with principal and interest amount,” said Anita Sardana, one of the petitioners.

The developer, when asked about the matter, said that the project in question is developed in Sector 88A in Gurugram on a larger licensed land admeasuring 13.759 acres, comprising two phases – Godrej Icon and Godrej Oasis. The area of the project on ground is in accordance with the area mentioned in the buyers’ agreement, the developer said.

“Both the projects have been completed and delivered strictly in consonance with the approved sanction plans. No part of the project land is acquired by the government and with respect to the same, we would like to bring forth that the allegations made against us seem to be misconceived. We would also want to state that we are not in receipt of any notice with regards to this petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. As a responsible developer, we believe in full compliance with the legal requirements as per the stated norms of the state and are confident of the correctness of our action and the merits of our case,” said Subhasish Pattanaik, region head-NCR 1, Godrej Properties.